The Department of National Defense (DND) has opened the bidding for the acquisition of two new construction frigates worth P18 billion in light of the planned establishment of a major naval base -- described as a "mini-Subic" -- in Palawan province.

In the invitation to bid, DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, head of the special bids and awards committee, said the frigates should be delivered within a period of 1,460 calendar days from the opening of the letter of credit.

The term "mini-subic" should not have been used by the Philippine Navy to describe the planned creation of the base for our future two frigates or should be clarified by the PN to the media since the term "subic" is associated with the United States armed forces bringing others to speculate that the US is establishing a base in Palawan and the West Philippine Sea. The AFP should be careful in choosing words for the public.

You are being taken for a ride by some gullible reporters, who have no sense of doing more research and backgrounder. Take time to back read some of the discussions here. PN's desired force mix has been a more than a year old discussion here in timawa. Nothing new on the article.

The two-brand new frigates which the Department of National Defense (DND) is acquiring for P18 billion is definitely more superior and heavily armed that the two Hamilton-class cutters in Philippine Navy (PN) service.

In an interview with PTV-4's "Good Morning Boss" program, Commodore Jose Renan C. Suarez, the PN's Patrol Force commander, said these ships are equipped with radar, sonar, and electronic warfare systems and can engage airborne, surface and underwater threats simultaneously.

The frigates will be equipped with anti-ship and anti-air missiles and a main gun capable of firing 120 rounds per minute aside from a torpedo system.

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Suarez said the new ships are part of the PN's "Navy Frigate Program" from 2013 to 2017.

He added the frigates are designed with numerous upgrades cycle to ensure that they will remain relevant and competitive against new vessels coming in line.

Suarez said these ships will greatly enhance the navy's capability to defend the country's vast maritime territories.

He added these ships will also greatly aid the two Hamilton-class cutters in service, BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), in their patrol and monitoring work once commissioned at the PN.

He said plans are also afoot to upgrade the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz to make them more capable in their maritime domain awareness mission. (Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)

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"I'm very determined. If I decide what something is worth doing, then I'll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I'll do it. That's the business of a leader." - Lee Kuan Yew

1. The Department of National Defense/Armed Forces of the Philippines (DND/AFP), through the Revised AFP Modernization Program with the sum of EIGHTEEN BILLION PESOS (PHP18,000,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the payments under the corresponding contract for the two (2) frigates for the Philippine Navy. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the Bid opening.

2. The DND/AFP now invites bids for the Acquisition of Two (2) units New Construction Frigates with Ammunition for the Philippine Navy. Delivery of the GOODS is required within a period of 1,460 calendar days from the opening of Letter of Credit. Bidders should have completed, within the last ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3. Bidding will be conducted through a two (2) stage competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from DND Bids and Awards Committee (DND SBAC-1) Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from Monday to Friday excluding holidays at 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on October 03, 2013 from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (PHP75,000.00).

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6. The DND SBAC-1 will hold its First Stage Pre-Bid Conference on October 11, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. at DND BAC Conference Room, Right Wing Basement, DND Bldg., Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, which shall be open to all interested parties.

7. First Stage Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before October 25, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. All Bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security in any of the acceptable forms as provided in the bidding documents.

8. First Stage Bid opening shall be on October 25, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. at DND BAC Conference Room, Basement, DND Bldg., Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

9. Eligible Bidders shall be notified for the Second Stage Bidding Procedure upon completion of the evaluation and validation of the submitted documents during the First Stage Bidding.

10. To facilitate eligibility checking, interested bidders may apply for registration with the DND SBAC-1, through the SBAC-1 Secretariat not later than ten (10) days from the scheduled submission and opening of bids for the project.

11. The DND/AFP reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Bidder or Bidders.

take note of that the pre-bid conference will be on November 10, 2013, 10:00 AM at the DND BAC Conference Room Basement, Right Wing, DND Bldg. Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

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"I'm very determined. If I decide what something is worth doing, then I'll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I'll do it. That's the business of a leader." - Lee Kuan Yew

Interesting how some sensitive information still appear in the document, which isn't as inaccessible as some folks had originally assumed.

Its been almost 4 years since the AFPMO was advised by the GPPB (and belatedly by the DND-BAC) that anybody with a PhilGEPS account can download specs even if they don't pay for it. Payment is only required to actually take part in the bid . . .

The same thought crossed my mind as I was reading the document, which is why I asked around first before posting. My guess is that since it is mainly a guide document at this time, and a lot of details may/will change during the project cycle, it is relatively "safe" to have this set of requirements "transparent" for now.

On a side note, we can expect one of the frigs in 3 years time. Not bad.

---One can say that it's only the minimum, and supplier has so much leeway in offering higher capability items that such -- but-- with the least bid amount (2nd stage bid) eventually the determinant... then it becomes less of a impetus.

PROPULSION MACHINERIES: The vessel shall have a minimum two(2) main propulsion engines which are able to provide desired speeds each coupled with two counter-rotating propellers driven by a reduction gear box. All pr opulsion machineries can be operated using commercially available Philippine standard fuel. The engines shall be fitted with adequate safety monitoring and controlling devices for speed, temperature, pressure and other operational functions. The machinery installation should be suitable for operations

^ It's found on the specs. Go to page 18, 19, 31 of the PDF. It specified the minimum ammo/missile req't upon delivery. Also on the main specs it calls for a minimum of :- quadruple launcher for SAM with at least 6 km range- two twin launcher for subsonic SSM with at least 50 km range- two triple launcher for ASW TTs

To the Moderators: Please change the date on my previous post from 10 Nov 2013 to 11 Oct 2013. I got confused with the way DND writes the date with the conventional system. Thanks!

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"I'm very determined. If I decide what something is worth doing, then I'll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I'll do it. That's the business of a leader." - Lee Kuan Yew